An excavation of the 1st century B.C. Celtic oppidum of Altenburg-Rheinau in southern Germany has unearthed a bone stylus used for writing on wax tablets. The stylus, discovered in last year’s dig season, is rare archaeological evidence that writing took place in the oppidum, a necessary skill for trade with the Mediterranean.
Located on the border between Germany and Switzerland, the oppidum was one the largest late Celtic cities north of the Alps. Excavations in the 1970s revealed the oppidum consisted of two settlement structures occupying two peninsulas: the Schwaben peninsula in what is now Germany, and the Au peninsula in what is now Switzerland. The Schwaben side covered 233 hectares; the Au side was smaller, covering around 88 hectares. Both sections were enclosed by defensive walls.
From August to October of this year, the State Office for Monument Preservation (LAD) in the Stuttgart Regional Council excavated the area near the fortification wall of the Schwaben peninsula side. Archaeologists found several large, cylindrical pits up to eight feet deep with multiple fill layers. The walls were lined with an organic material, suggesting they were probably used for food storage.
In addition to the bone stylus, LAD’s excavations uncovered a great many artifacts including wine amphorae imported from Italy that confirm the oppidum’s connection to Mediterranean trade.
“Wine from the Mediterranean was a sought-after luxury item among the Celtic upper class and the basis for a lucrative trade,” [reports project leader Dr. Günther Wieland.] In this context, numerous Celtic coins found can also be seen: “The coin economy was an essential factor for a flourishing trade,” says Wieland. An insight into the everyday culture of the late Celtic period is provided by some artistically decorated costume components made of bronze and iron, such as numerous fibulae (garment clasps) and belt components. Their chronology makes it clear that the oppidum of Altenburg-Rheinau must have existed in the 1st century BC, when most of the Celtic settlements in southwest Germany had already been abandoned. […]
The large quantities of well-preserved animal bones found also provide insights into the oppidum’s economic system, settlement organization and long-distance relationships. These included mainly cattle bones, which indicate organized livestock farming and specialized meat production.
The oppidum is indeed in Switzerland and in Germany as well, with the (swiss?) former Rheinau monastery on the small island right in between. According to Herodotus, the Celts lived “at the source of the Danube”, whereas the Greek speaking colonists in what is now Italy, of course, traded their wines over the Rhone.
Caesar describes that the Celts were using Greek letters, in contrast to e.g. to that coin from yesterday’s post, where there is a king “Eisu” inscribed on the Dobunni coin in Roman letters. However, the oppidum is assumed to have been abandoned by around 15BC, when the Dangstetten Roman camp was built. Maybe, the stylus is a Roman(!) one just bookkeeping the wines in stock 😉️
There is an excellent map of the Rheinau oppidum on the Allemannic Wikpedia: “De keltisch Wall mit Grabe bi Rhiinau isch im Mittelalter uusbaut wore und im 2. Weltchrieg sind Betonbunker dezue cho” (‘the celtic wall with trench was enlarged in the Middle Ages, and in WWII concrete bunkers were added’).
Interestingly, there has been a Celtic oppidum on the Vogelsburg at Volkach at the slopes of river Main, today a center of Frankish/ Franconian wine production, and there likewise is a monastery.